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Northern Middlesex Regional Housing Services Office
The Northern Middlesex Regional Housing Services Office (NMRHSO) was formed out a planning process funded by the District Local Technical Assistance program in late 2021. November of that year, the NMCOG Regional Housing Workgroup began meeting and identified a regional need to provide a collaborative, multijurisdictional, and cost-effective organization to provide housing support services intended to preserve, monitor, and promote affordable housing units and programs in the region. The group determined a regional housing services model could fill this gap between investment in affordable housing and each community's staff capacity and expertise. There was also interest in providing an ongoing forum to share strategies and ideas.
In December of 2024, NMCOG was awarded a grant from the Community Compact Cabinet Efficiency and Regionalization Grant Program and began the process of hiring a Regional Housing Coordinator. The Coordinator was hired in March 2025 to lead the pilot through June 2026. During the pilot period, the NMRHSO is focused on both establishing and delivering housing support services and designing and implementing a permanent operating structure to continue providing services at the conclusion of the grant funded period. The NMRHSO is currently guided by ongoing community insight and direction provided by the NMRHSO Advisory Committee.
What is the NMRHSO?
The NMRHSO is designed to help fill the gap between our communities investments in affordable housing and the limited staff capacity to provide oversight to the developed units over time. The NMRHSO provides efficient, cost-effective support and services on a regional scale to build municipal capacity and assist with managing, producing, and preserving affordable housing. Additionally, the regional collaboration provides a forum for municipalities to share ideas, approaches, strategies, and initiatives to common topics and issues.
NMRHSO Services
The NMRHSO offers services to meet the needs of our region that fall under three different categories: Affordable Housing Monitoring, Local Housing Services, and Regional Housing Services. These services are in the processes of being established, implemented, and enhanced throughout the pilot phase.
The NMRHSO affordable housing monitoring service aims to expand staff capacity and expertise across member communities to ensure affordable units remain available and accessible over time. This service supports municipalities in tracking, administering, and preserving existing affordable housing units more effectively.
These services are designed to provide direct, municipality-specific support that builds internal capacity and ensures effective implementation of affordable housing initiatives. The NMRHSO local housing services are intended to directly support municipal staff, boards, and committees in advancing key housing priorities by overcome staffing and resource limitations to make progress toward achieving local affordable housing goals
By leveraging NMCOG’s regional structure, municipalities benefit from coordinated training opportunities, access to shared data tools, and targeted support in providing housing guidance and assistance to local stakeholders.
NMRHSO Pilot Phase Work Plan
The initial focus is on administrative setup and stakeholder engagement. Key activities include introductory meetings with municipal staff and affordable housing trusts and committees; a needs assessment to identify housing priorities across the region; review of best practices from peer RHSOs; and coordination with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) to ensure alignment with housing compliance requirements. This quarter also includes the drafting, review and presentation of the NMRHSO Interim Report.
This phase emphasizes initial service delivery and data development. Key milestones include launching the planning process for the RHSO webpage, compiling preliminary housing data tools, databases, and dashboards and initiating the first round of annual monitoring for affordable housing units. A comprehensive review of all units listed on the SHI will be completed with preliminary reports sent to all NMCOG member municipalities. The local housing projects identified in the first quarter will commence and receive direct support from NMRHSO staff. The drafting and review of the Intermunicipal Agreement will also occur during this period to allow ample time for budget planning and solidify regional collaboration.
With foundational elements in place, this quarter marks the start of expanded service delivery. Activities include developing the first training and workshop schedule, the initiation of annual monitoring and compliance tasks, and continued technical assistance for locally identified housing initiatives. A call for additional projects will be directed toward communities that have not already initiated projects through the NMRHSO. The completed housing data tools and databases will be presented to the NMRHSO Advisory Committee. They will also be published on the NMRHSO webpage once launched.
The final quarter is focused on pilot evaluation and transition planning. The NMRHSO will compile a comprehensive final report summarizing activities, accomplishments, and recommendations. The report will include the first annual comprehensive SHI monitoring report. Monitoring services and regional and local support projects will continue through the end of the pilot phase. A new call for local housing projects will be completed to plan for work continuing beyond the pilot phase. Prior to the end of the final quarter, it is anticipated that the final Intermunicipal Agreement will be executed to continue RHSO services under the new long-term structure to allow invoicing activities to be initiated at the start of the new fiscal year in July 2026.
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Bob Correnti
Executive Director, Billerica Housing Authority
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Christina Andersen
Senior Director of Property Management and Compliance, Chelmsford Housing Authority
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Meredith Boumil-Flynn
Dracut Affordable Housing Partnership
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Alison Manugian
Assistant Town Manager, Town of Dracut
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Jason Silva
Town Administrator, Town of Dunstable
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Phil Ferreira
Director of Housing Programs, City of Lowell
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Jason Cleghorn
Town Planner, Town of Pepperell
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Alex Lowder
Community and Economic Development Planner, Town of Tewksbury
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Kim O'Brien
Tyngsborough Affordable Housing Trust
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Joanie Croteau
Westford Affordable Housing Trust